*** (3 stars)
“Some Fabulous stuff!”
I found this sadly disappointing – though many in the Festival Theatre audience obviously found much to applaud. Yes, Verdi’s Masked Ball isn’t the most intricately plotted of operas – it’s basically a love triangle with political overtones – but the music is full of emotion, and the situations not uncommon but none the less heartrending for those concerned.
Verdi’s original intention was to write an opera based on the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, but he was forced to take the plot across the pond and base it in Boston. Governor Riccardo is very popular, but also has enemies. He is in love with Amelia, the wife of his best friend and loyal supporter Renato. Amelia is torn between her illicit love for Riccardo and her loyalty to her husband. Ulrica, an uncannily accurate fortune-teller warns Riccardo that his life is in imminent danger, but he laughs it off. Ameila consults Ulrica, wanting to know how she can overcome her feelings: she is told to go to the haunted graveyard and pick a certain flower. She obeys – but is followed by Riccardo, who confesses his love for her. She in turn confesses her feelings, but begs him to help her be strong.
The pair are discovered by the group of conspirators who are plotting the Governor’s assassination. Renato is also there, and gladly agrees to escort the unknown lady safely home. He is appalled to discover that this woman is in fact his wife, and refuses to accept her protestations of innocence. He joins the conspirators and gladly agrees to be the one who will kill Riccardo at tomorrow’s masked ball. Amelia tries to warn the Governor, but in vain: he is shot by Renato. Before he dies, he tells Renato of his wife’s innocence: Renato is horrified, and all present praise the generosity of the dying man.
This production from Zurich Opera updated the action to America’s ‘Gilded Age’, when the upheaval of the recent civil war was being replaced by a surge of economic and political activity. The production was very busy, with [an excellent] corps of dancers who were also active players in the drama, waving hands, arms, and legs most distractingly even when nowhere near a dance floor. Right from the start there was busyness – we couldn’t listen to the overture in peace, but had to witness an autopsy [of the dead Governor] which both Amelia and Renato gatecrashed. The plot was set up against a background of waving arms and election materials; Ulrica’s séance was invaded by an unlikely group of supposed fishermen [Riccardo’s compatriots] who played catch with her crystal ball; Amelia kept glugging from a hip flask, while her plea to her husband for mercy was overridden by Renato’s whisky consumption and pistol-waving. Even the ball scene was so crowded with distraction that it was only too easy to miss the main points of the plot.
The overall result was that the music got completely sidelined – a great pity, since there’s some fabulous stuff in the score. I couldn’t help but contrast this production with Maxim Emelyanychev and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s latest contribution to their Mozart opera series – the minimum of action from the cast told the story very simply and allowed the music to envelop the audience in its magic. Yes, there were laughs – but arising from the text, not put in to amuse the masses who couldn’t possibly cope with listening to the music without constant visual distraction.
The singing was [mostly] very good: ditto the orchestra – though there seemed to be rather a number of moments when the two were not in synch with each other. The set made clever use of the revolve to transition from interior to exterior settings – but it was unfortunate that Riccardo’s huge emotional outpouring had to put him in front of the red velvet curtain while the ball scene was being set up. The lighting was mostly sombre, with rather too much use of ‘oh it’s a dramatic bit, or it’s boding again – let’s get the lights to flicker’. The costumes were almost entirely in shades of grey – very dismal: I had hoped the ball scene would be a riot of colour but this was not to be.
Like I say, others in the audience obviously thought the whole thing was splendid: I just wished Verdi had been allowed to be heard. Technically it was [mostly] very good – but it really didn’t move me: and there’s plenty in the score of A Masked Ball to tug at the heartstrings and bring tears to the eyes.
Such a pity.
Verdi’s A Masked Ball, Edinburgh International Festival, Festival Theatre, Runs until 30th August for more information go to: Verdi’s A Masked Ball | Edinburgh International Festival
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